Dance with Me!
by Tsubame Ongaku
Summary: LJ Bleachness 3rd: Orihime was not a good dancer. You could say that she has two left feet when dancing was concerned. Ishida didn't plan on teaching her, so how did he end up with a plastic tulip on his lips and discussing the art in the dance of love?


**Title:** Dance with Me!

**Author:** Tsubame Ongaku

**Fandom:** Bleach

**Genre:** General/Romance/Humor

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach.

**Word Count:** 4,004

**Summary/Comments:** This was my entry to Debbiechan's contest and my first IshiHime and Mild T fic. No... I will not make anything higher. Haha… if characters are out of character, I really apologize. I didn't have much time to make it. I am proud to say that I won third place! I am proud because I lost to very deserving people. VERY. _"Orihime"_ by _R. Winner_, the story that won first place is unforgettable! It definitely got my vote! Someday, I'll be just as good...MAYBE. Haha...Oh! Advance warning for major cheesy-ness!

* * *

"**Dance with Me!"**

**by Tsubame Ongaku**

* * *

**tan·go **táng gō

_Hispanic_

_Noun_

**_ dance of Latin American origin: _**_a stylized Latin American ballroom dance in 2/4 time in which the steps are marked by glides and sudden pauses._

* * *

_"Dancing is a vertical expression of a horizontal desire."**-George Bernard Shaw**_

* * *

"Left- right-then… glide? Or was right- left- then glide?" Orihime muttered as she _danced _and struggled to remember the steps her music teacher taught them that morning. Tatsuki already left to take care of the groceries for her mother. She had already done all she could do to teach Hime but nothing was working. She just couldn't tell the different between a turn and a spin or when to turn left or right.

"No, that doesn't seem right," she scratched her head, laughing.

Inoue Orihime had always been a terrible dancer. It didn't do her any good that their lesson for PE was to learn the tango. She usually did so well in school. She came second only to Ishida during exams. She just couldn't understand why she could understand how to get the ratio of the pie better than a few dance steps.

She bought a book that taught a few tango steps but it wasn't working either. She tried watching videos but all it did was confuse her more with the very complicated moves.

Her teacher said that watching her was painful and her dancing was like watching a monkey loose on the dance floor. It didn't sound good, even for her. Yet, she desperately wanted to do well. She loved watching people tango on television. It looked so magical and the women looked so beautiful. They glittered like jewels and dominated the dance floors like queens, their movements as graceful and elegant as a calm stream. Orihime could only wish to look as beautiful as them.

She always loved watching the women in beautiful, glittering gowns as they swayed their hips with their partners.

She awkwardly went back into position again, but somehow it didn't seem right. She kept glancing at the book, biting her lip nervously. "Maybe this would be easier with a partner?" she thought absentmindedly. "Sway left, sway right… and--ah!" She screamed, tripping clumsily on her a low seat.

She was getting used to the tripping already. She had a lot of bruises to prove it too.

Once in a while she would glance at the clock, waiting for 5 o'clock. That was the time Miss Rukia said to arrive for the occasion. Orihime had somehow convinced everyone to hold a party for Ishida. With a little coaxing from Rukia, they were able to convince him to hold it at his house. She had planned to master it by then so that she could show it off with Tatsuki-chan. It was going to be so much fun! But… it wouldn't be if she made a fool of herself with her dancing.

She rubbed her side, instinctively. "Ouch! That hurt," she mumbled.

"Miss Inoue, what are you doing?"

"AH! Ishida-kun! You surprised me, don't do that," she said, still sprawled on the floor. "How long have you been standing there?"

Ishida pushed his glasses up and walked towards the girl sprawled on the floor. "A while. The door was open so I let myself in," he replied shrugging. He stretched out his hand to her to help her up. "I was on my way to Kurosaki's house. Something odd is going on there. But I decided to stop by here first to return to you this."

He handed her student ID. "You left this in the club room earlier." He then pointed to the open door. "That is a dangerous habit, Miss Inoue. You must always keep your doors locked. Who knows what would have happened if it wasn't me who came. You must be conscious of perverts, since you live alone."

"Thank you, Ishida-kun!" she accepted gleefully. Earlier, she had been wondering where she had left it. "I'm sorry about the door, Ishida-kun. I forgot to lock the door," she admitted. "That won't happen again." She then realized that she couldn't let him leave. It wasn't time yet. He might catch the others in the middle of preparation. She had to find some way to distract him.

Thankfully, he did it for her though. What exactly are you doing, Miss Inoue?"

Hime pouted angrily, accepting his assistance and allowing him to pull her up. "I was dancing! What did it look like?"

Ishida chuckled nervously, thinking. "I don't have to answer that, right?" After helping her up, he sat down on one of her settees. "What dance are you trying to learn?"

Hime placed her hands on her hips confidently, feeling a little proud to be able to do such a dignified dance. "The Tango!"

Ishida almost fell off his seat. The little, awkward… ahh… dance was the tango? It was difficult to believe.

"What is wrong, Ishida-kun?" she asked, looking at his curiously. "You seem surprised."

"How have you been learning until now, Miss Inoue? Aside from class that is…"

The orange haired girl began to think about it carefully. "Come to think of it, I have been watching a few videos about it. But it still confuses me though. I didn't think it would be too hard. I learn how to cook through the cooking channel after all."

"That would explain your very interesting menu, Miss Inoue," he coughed, trying to keep from chuckling. "But I don't think that you can learn to tango properly by just watching it."

"Ishida-kun, you don't have to call me Miss Inoue all the time. Hime is fine," she insisted. "Miss Inoue makes us seem like strangers."

"I'm sorry. It's a habit I suppose." Ishida coughed again, standing up from his seat. "But I think you got a few steps wrong, Miss Inoue." He stood in front of her, then pushed up his glasses again. "Would you allow me to tutor you a bit? I am knowledgeable of the tango. My mother insisted that I learned to dance when I was a child."

Hime's eyes shone with admiration. "Really? Is that why you don't listen in class?" She noticed that Ishida never seemed to listen during discussions. He was always in the corner and reading. Before, she thought it had been because he found the subject boring. Ishida didn't look like the type to engage in physical activities… well… except archery maybe.

Ishida's sweat dropped at her innocent, yet very straight to the point question. "You can say that, Miss Inoue." He then plucked a pink, plastic tulip from a flower vase on the dining table. "We can use this instead of a rose." He came behind her and took both her hands in his. "Tango is an art… like painting, sewing or sculpting because in tango, you are also creating something beautiful."

For some reason that even Hime didn't understand, she blushed at the feel of Ishida's fingers that held hers quite firmly. Ishida hadn't held her this close since the time when they went to Soul Society to rescue Miss Rukia.

Ishida was about to begin but then he noticed and was shocked to see the bruises on her arms. "Miss Inoue, where did you get these from?" He inspected them, genuinely concerned especially when Hime winced as he touched a black bruise. "A few of these look new."

She laughed, her eyes shining. "I got them from practicing. They are not as bad they look actually. I just can't stop tripping. I have two left feet when I dance." She said it like it was the funniest thing in the world. One of the things that Uryuu liked about her was her unending optimism. Even when she was in pain, she still smiled. He didn't think that he could ever do that. He found that side of her very sweet and admirable.

A lock of her hair got into her face. He was about to push it back into place but he scolded himself that he must play the gentleman. "We should tend to those first."

"Later!" she insisted. "It is not as bad as it looks, Ishida-kun."

He sighed at her insistence. She was such a stubborn girl. "Do you have music?" he whispered, looking for a distraction.

She nodded in reply and pointed to her CD player. She had been practicing with music with Tatsuki earlier, hoping that it would help. Unfortunately, it didn't help her much. They ended up stumbling a lot. He turned it on, choosing the most appropriate tango music and returned to his original position. It was a bit faster and sensual than the music she was used to. She hoped Ishida knew what he was doing.

"We'll start with something simple. But first, I want to ask. While you were watching those people in those videos, what did you notice?" He suddenly pulled her body closer to his and began running his hands down her arm, making her shiver.

The sudden contact between his body and hers surprised her and made her squeak. She turned nervously to face him, her face a little pink. "They all dance beautifully…"

He shook his head. "No, I meant how did they look? What did their faces say?" His leaned closer to her neck.

She could feel his breath on her neck, and she couldn't help but shiver but she still couldn't understand why. Despite the subtle distraction, Orihime was trying to remember how the dancers looked. She could remember their looks vividly but in total honesty, she didn't understand the looks very well. "I-- they all look like… they want to eat each other alive…" That was the best way she could describe it.

"Correct," he nodded, then tricking his fingers down her neck. "There is a reason why they call the tango the dance of love. You can see love in their every step, their movement… and their eyes. It is not only about counting the beats and glides."

His fingers tickled but Hime couldn't help but think that it felt really nice. She could feel his body so close to hers and it was unexpectedly pleasant. His touch was gentle, his embrace warm and his body hard and strong.

"The first step to tango is being comfortable with your partner, getting the flow of the dance will become much easier that way. But in order to do that you must become aware of your partner's very existence." He pulled her closer to him, making her squeak again. "You have to get used to the touch…"

She closed her eyes as he breathed into her ear. Her face was turning from pink to red.

"The tango is not only beautiful… it is the seductive and sensual dance of lovers." He wrapped an arm around her waist and began to guide her hips to sway with the sound of the music. "You've got to feel the moves your partner make and move with him."

Hime closed her eyes as she began to take in the sensations of Ishida's fingers on her body. With her eyes still closed, Ishida smiled and began to pull her closer and led her into a dance. He almost regretted it later, realizing that Orihime had a more gorgeous body than he expected. He could tell as he moved with her and touched her.

He turned red, trying to stir away from any dirty thoughts. "Don't be so stiff, Miss Inoue. Try to feel… ummm… sexy."

"I told you to call me Hime," she reminded him. She opened her eyes and stared at him. "Why sexy?"

Putting the plastic flower in his mouth, he sped up his steps all of a sudden, his movement becoming more aggressive. When he pulled her back into his arms after a spin, he spoke again. "You have to hold each other like you don't want to let go, want the person as much as you want your next breath and make it seem like you'd die if you cannot feel their touch again." He breathed into her hair then threw her into a twirl. "The tango is like making love on the dance floor." He replied honestly. "Your movements are supposed to give off a message of love and wanting to just let go of those that ail you."

Hime was beginning to feel light headed. Ishida was a skilled dancer apparently. She could feel his hands everywhere. Sometimes picking her up, throwing her into difficult spins, gliding her around the room expertly without once bumping into anything, sometimes she could feel his hand inching up her leg but she was too mesmerized by his eyes to pay any real attention.

Before she knew it, she was pulled into his _love making._ The stiffness in her steps slowly began to disappear now that stopped second guessing herself. Ishida smiled softly as he then began to glide her around the room. Erotically, he picked up her leg and spun then dropped it very slowly while running his fingers up it.

"She's not bad," the Quincy thought. "With the right partner, she is a natural at this." Then pulled her waist tighter into his embrace.

Hime was feeling strange. Her heart was racing fast, her body was feeling too warm and her eyes were too mesmerized by Ishida's eyes. Was this a normal feeling when you dance tango? And the strange look in his eyes… his eyes looked soft in a way she'd never seen before. Was it because of the dance? Did she have the same look in her eyes too?

Without really knowing it, her body moved on its own. She would sometimes, take the flower from Ishida's mouth with her own and continued like it was part of the dance. Ishida would sometimes take it back and caressed her cheeks with it. Feeling Ishida's fingers on her body, the desire to touch him back, it really did feel like they were making love as they danced.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from her adorably flushed face with her eyes looking gentle, confused but blissful. "Ishida-kun?" she whispered.

He felt a little dirty, using the dance as an excuse to touch her. "Please… call me Uryuu," he mumbled, turning red and looking away. He spun her and took the flower to his mouth again. "Now, look at me like… you love me…"

She looked puzzled at first but didn't ask any questions. She imitated perfectly the look of someone in love. Something triggered in Uryuu as he stared down at her. He didn't understand it himself. It was like he had stopped breathing for a minute.

As the music was about to end, he pulled her back into his arms and skillfully ended the song with a dip with their faces only inches from one another and their eyes not leaving each other. Hime could even feel his breathing so close.

They stayed in that position, silent for a few seconds before Hime noticed the awkwardness of the position. "Maybe we should get up now." She quickly began to straighten but unfortunately, her clumsiness returned. She tripped and instinctively grabbed on to her dancing partner, pulling him with her to the ground. Thinking quickly, Uryuu had immediately turned their positions around so that she wouldn't get hurt.

"Are you alright, Hime-san!" he asked instantly grabbing her face so that they'd meet eye to eye. "Hime-san!"

"I'm fine, Ishida-kun. Don't worry about it." She assured him, patting his chest playfully. "I should be the one saying that. You cushioned my fall. The impact must have hurt you."

"That was nothing. You're not that heavy," he replied, taking a hold of her hand. It took Hime another while to notice that they've been lying there for sometime with their faces at kissing distance. She immediately got up and faced away from him to wait for her face to return to its normal color.

Uryuu got up too and coughed, as he pushed up his glasses again. "And that is how you dance the tango."

Smiling and feeling a bit disoriented, she nodded. She was panting like she had just run a marathon and was red as a tomato. "That was an exhilarating feeling and stimulating for some reason." she tilted her head to the side, giving him a refreshing smile. "Thank you very much for the lesson, Uryuu-kun."

His eyes widened and his cheeks flushed, not used to seeing such a refreshing smile directed at him. He also couldn't help thinking that she should be careful at her choice of words next time. "You—you're welcome, Miss… I mean… Hime-san."

"Hime is enough," she insisted in a scolding voice but then smiled again, laughing. "But at least this is an improvement. But we can still work on that." She picked up the plastic tulip from the ground. It fell from Ishida's lips during the fall. She gingerly touched it and instead of returning it to the original flower vase, she placed it on her desk.

"Okay, Hime-san…"

"Hime!" she scolded him again, then stealing a glance at the clock. "Oh, my! Look at the time." It was finally time to go to the Kurosaki residence. She was delighted that she was able to keep occupied before it was time. It would be disastrous if he went in the middle of preparations. "Weren't you on you on your way to Kurosaki-kun's place. I was thinking of going too. Do you want to go together?" She looked innocently at him.

Uryuu saw nothing wrong with it. He couldn't say no to such a face anyway. He coughed, pretending to be indifferent. "I don't see why not… but why are you going?"

Hime didn't know how to respond at first. She thought frantically for a moment before blurting the first thing that came into her mind. "Kurosaki-kun is having trouble with… his African itching measles!"

He stared at her blankly at first. "African itching measles?"

"Yes!" she nodded energetically. "He needs me to cure it right away before his sisters catch it, then his father and then the whole city!"

"I see..." he replied uncertainly. She couldn't possibly be serious, could she? "Then we should make haste, right?"

She nodded, pulling him out the door. All the way to Ichigo's house, Orihime kept the mood light by telling her stories of her day with Tatsuki and their_ evil_ PE teacher. Uryuu found her stories surprisingly entertaining. They were both honest and comical.

".. and then Tatsuki and I tripped when we accidentally bumped into another pair. The other pair tripped too and crashed into another pair." She hid her face in her hands. "It was so embarrassing."

Her companion coughed to keep himself from laughing rudely. He actually saw that incident. He had been watching her that time. He found it very entertaining but at the same time worried. He kept wondering if she had hurt herself in the fall. He was relieved to find her okay.

"Uryuu-kun? Do you-- dance like that with a lot of girls?" She fought to keep her voice neutral. She was just curious, she assured herself. Asking didn't really mean anything.

Without looking, he answered her. "Not really. I have had the same dance partner in class for seven years and she's a good friend and already happily married. She dances with her husband in International competitions now. Also, I don't dance the tango that much anymore because I had mastered it long ago."

"Oh," Hearing that relieved Orihime for some reason.

Before they knew it, they arrived in front of the Kurosaki 's Clinic. It was unusually quiet. He turned to Orihime. "Something strange is going on here," he told her. "I had spoken with Kurosaki earlier but he was acting strangely. Actually, he and Kuchiki-san were acting strange."

Orihime laughed nervously. "Really"

He nodded. "At first I thought they ran off for a date, but then I realized that they never usually avoided me when they left on dates, so I decided to pay them a visit."

Walking to the front door, he turned to see the accomplished and delighted look on her face. "You're acting strange too, Hime-san. Are you okay?"

She nodded, ignoring the fact that he was still addressing her so formally. "I am fine. Did you forget what day it is, Ishida-kun?"

"A Saturday?"

She shook her head and pushed open the door for them. The house was pretty dark. It looked like no one was home. But why was the door open? "No, it is… a more special day…"

"Surprise!" the lights turned on automatically. Revealing the attendance of almost everyone they knew. People from school to people from Soul Society disguised as normal people. "Happy Birthday, Ishida!" They screamed.

Uryuu was too shocked to move. He had forgotten that it was his birthday. "How? Who? Wh--y?" he turned to the orange haired boy, the owner of the house.

Ichigo who was just leaning in one corner shrugged. He gestured to the orange haired girl beside Ishida. "Don't look at me. It was Inoue's idea."

He turned to his dance partner, still standing behind him. He looked down and laughed whole-heartedly before turning to Orihime. "Thank you, Hime. Thank you so much." After laughing, a small smile graced his lips. "This was a nice surprise."

Tatsuki was back from her errands and had gone straight to the party turned to smile at everyone. "Well? What are we waiting for? Let's dance!" The lights dimmed and music turned on. Coincidentally like a gift of fate, tango music played. As some people went to the dance floor, Hime took hold of the birthday boy's hand and grinned.

Uryuu was grinning too. When he was sure that no one was looking, he bent down and brushed his lips against Hime's in a kiss, then squeezed her hand tightly. "Dance with me?"

She was initially too stunned to move but then nodded. What else could she say to the one that made tango fun for her for the first time? He was also the only person that could bring out such strange yet pleasant feelings from her when they danced. Dancing with him made her feel good.

"I'd love to, Uryuu-kun! Making love with you is fun!"

* * *

**END**

* * *

**Note:** I have a confession to make. I really don't know much about dancing. This entry was so last minute that I decided to write the first thing that came to my mind, which was the tango. I didn't want to at first because I don't dance and I am not particularly good at the sensual writing style. Haha…

LOLs... I phail! xD


End file.
